Q4 EPS Estimates for W.W. Grainger Raised by William Blair

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) – Equities researchers at William Blair raised their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for W.W. Grainger in a report issued on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $9.71 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $9.31. The consensus estimate for W.W. Grainger’s current full-year earnings is $38.69 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for W.W. Grainger’s Q1 2025 earnings at $10.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $10.54 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $10.95 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $10.12 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $41.84 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $45.79 EPS.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.98 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $4.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.40 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.43 earnings per share.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,018.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,058.50.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,105.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15. W.W. Grainger has a twelve month low of $747.00 and a twelve month high of $1,130.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,035.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

W.W. Grainger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at $102,281,004.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other W.W. Grainger news, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 12,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,037.68, for a total value of $13,481,538.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 98,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,281,004.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total transaction of $27,524,551.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,650,478.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Objective Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc increased its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 16,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,366,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. increased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pegasus Partners Ltd. now owns 589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.